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Monday, November 18, 2013

Mystery Trojan found in Space

A mystery malware is brought into space by scientists that infected
the International Space Station is identified as a gaming Trojan.

The infection happened five years ago in 2008 and was launched back
into the news last week due to a speech by Eugene Kaspersky, the head
honcho of Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky Lab.

Kaspersky said that the malware was in Windows machines used by scientists on the International Space Station.

Virus’ and Trojans’ on computers on the platform are proving the
malware pathogens have hitched a ride on the removable media carried up
to the space station by astronauts.

Kaspersky said: “Scientists, from time to time, they are
coming to space with USBs which are infected. I’m not kidding. I was
talking to a Russian space guys and they said from time to time there
are virus epidemics in the space station.”

Scientists have identified the malware as Gammima-AG, a Trojan
designed to steal passwords for online gaming. This situation shows
just how USB sticks can easily spread digital diseases.

Stuxnet

Stuxnet is the worm that infected computers connected to SCADA, Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanx in 2009-2010.

Stuxnet was developed as part of a US-Israeli information warfare
effort, codenamed Operation Olympic Games, that started under the
presidency of George W Bush.

The
worm escaped onto the internet and revealed that it spread across
Windows systems. The malware destroyed operations of industrial control
systems from Siemens.

It was activated when the kit was being used to control high-speed equipment such as Iran’s nuke purifying centrifuges.

Kaspersky did not say the Stuxnet infected the ISS, he did say the
space station has a SCADA system but it is controlled by the Linux-based
systems.

Below is the taping of the Eugene Kaspersky at the Press Club in
Canberra, Australia. The malware, widely considered to have been
developed by the US Government as a means to disrupt Iran’s nuclear
enrichment plans. A physically separated ‘air-gapped’ network in the
Russian plant after it was carried across on a USB device.

This shows how easily computers can be infected by malware. Even NASA
is infecting computers out in space. Next time you let a friend use
your computer, you might want to think twice about letting them plug
anything into it.

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